If you’re rich enough, you can pay people to do stuff you don’t want to deal with. By most people’s standards, these expenditures by the ultra-wealthy seem ludicrous. Here are 10 weird things billionaires spend money on.
10. Gold/Expensive Bathroom Accessories
Chinese jewelry mogul Law Sai-wing spent $3.5 million on his bathroom, which features a 24-karat gold toilet and fixtures, and a roof covered in hundreds of precious stones. It holds the Guinness World Record for most expensive bathroom. A Trump Tower condo in Manhattan installed $9 million worth of marble, including in the bathroom.
9. Random Auction Items
Rich people collect some of the weirdest things. For example, a Canadian dentist paid $31,200 for John Lennon’s tooth. Audrey Hepburn’s “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” script sold for over $800,000. Kate Winslet’s “Titanic” dress went for $330,000. Marilyn Monroe’s “Happy Birthday” gown sold for $4.8 million. It seems a huge waste of money spent on things one doesn’t need.
8. Renting Celebrities
Did you know you can rent a celebrity for social events? Well, if you’re rich enough. Booking agencies make celebrities, authors, athletes, and musicians accessible for the right price. This kind of thing is a regular gig for The Kardashians. Jennifer Lopez pocketed over $1 million for a private three-song concert gig for the leader of Turkmenistan in 2013.
7. Private Islands
Owning a private island is the ultimate get-away-from-it-all place to escape. It’s also a huge bragging right for the ultra-wealthy. Virgin’s Sir Richard Branson purchased Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands in 1979. Oracle’s Larry Ellison purchased 98% of a Hawaiian island in 2012. Of course, financier Jeffrey Epstein’s island was infamous.
6. Superyachts
The wealthy don’t buy “boats” or yachts anymore. They buy Superyachts. There’s no definition, so let’s call it a yacht on steroids or a mini-luxury liner. Larry Ellison’s 454-foot yacht had 82 rooms, a movie theater, a gym, and a basketball court. He sold it to buy something bigger. Larry Page, Jeff Bezos, and Bill Gates all have them.
5. Expensive Parties
Celebrities that are in the super-rich club throw legendary parties that people talk about for years. For example, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West threw a $1.3 million Christmas party. The snow alone cost $350,000. One of the biggest parties was the opening night party at the Atlantis in Dubai, which cost a whopping $31 million.
4. Ridiculous Levels of Convenience
Rich people don’t want to deal with the monotony and hassles of everyday life that the rest of us endure. They pay people to do that. All of the basic household chores for sure. They may hire someone to stand in line for them and they’ll step up when it’s their turn. They fly first class or charter private flights.
3. Concierge Services
Many rich people rely on concierge services to take care of random needs and errands such as organizing travel, getting into exclusive restaurants, planning a kid’s birthday party, and more. Their time is better spent earning money so it makes sense to hire out small tasks. For example, one popular concierge company charges around $1,500 per service.
2. Private Movie Premieres at Home
Many celebrities don’t want to deal with crowded theaters and bumping elbows with yakking moviegoers who have their cell phones out. Instead, they’ve got the cash to view a just-released movie from their home. It starts with spending $15,000 for a media server and then around $2000-$3000 per movie for an opening night.
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1. Tickets to Outer Space
Only the ultra-rich can afford this one, and the opportunities are limited. Nonetheless, the wealthy can take advantage of an out-of-this-world thrill ride like no other. Virgin Galactic sells tickets to space to the public for $450,000. (It was originally $250,000, but demand and inflation). SpaceX launched the first all-civilian spaceflight in September 2021.
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